I have to say I got a lot out of the [Inman Connect conference in New York](http://www.realestateconnect.com/ny07/) last week. I found the attendees were mainly decision-makers, which was refreshing, and everyone I spoke with was excited to be there. I met a slew of bloggers and real estate technology companies I follow and respect, got to moderate a well-attended [panel discussion on valuation with four real sharp people](http://matrix.millersamuelv2.wpenginepowered.com/?p=1017), do an interview on video, see some new publications, and most importantly, got several different trade show carry-on bags (to be stored in a closet for a theoretical later use).

I could also say everyone at the conference was insulated from reality because I had to close my office Tuesday morning. We were all feeling the effects of the [not-actually-gas-but-it-still-burned-your-eyes-and-made-you-feel-dizzy-and-naseaus leak](http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/08/nyregion/08cnd-odor.html?_r=1&hp&ex=1168318800&en=b688635a7be2e78d&ei=5094&partner=homepage&oref=slogin) and yet my office was only 4 blocks away.

Just before the conference, [Jessica Swesey, Managing Editor of Inman News](http://www.realestateconnect.com/ny07/bios.aspx#Swesey_Jessica) invited about a half dozen bloggers to expand the Inman blog content by providing contributions. I am happy to say Matrix is one of them. We actually log-in directly to their blog and provide unedited content, much of which will also be presented on our own blogs.

The other bloggers that were invited (and are also my blog-roll and are daily reads), were [Bloodhound Blog](http://www.bloodhoundrealty.com/BloodhoundBlog/), [Transparent RE](http://transparentre.com/), [Mortgage Reports](http://21stcmb.typepad.com/) and [360 Digest](http://www.360digest.com/).